WIMI Hologram Academy: the application of virtual assembly technology in aircraft assembly
HONG KONG, May 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WIMI Hologram Academy, working in partnership with the Holographic Science Innovation Center, has written a new technical article describing their exploration of the application of virtual assembly technology in the aircraft assembly field. This article follows below:
At the end of the 20th century, some scholars used virtual reality technology to provide immersive, interactive, realistic, and convenient virtual scenes for assembly process technology; and conducted preliminary research on virtual assembly technology, which has been well applied and promoted. At present, the global research mainly stays in the desktop virtual assembly stage, and the supporting virtual environment equipment is relatively backward. Now, the research situation of virtual assembly technology has been comprehensively reviewed and analyzed.
According to statistics, the assembly cost of products accounts for 30% ~50% or even more of the total production cost, which is higher in the aviation manufacturing industry. Scientists who are from WIMI Hologram Academy of WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc.(NASDAQ: WIMI), discussed the application of virtual assembly technology in aircraft assembly. Virtual assembly technology is to assemble each part of the product in the way of human-computer interaction, which can combine the process and all the materials of the product for simulation. Virtual assembly technology generates the assembly process that meets the actual production to reduce the production expenses and waste of production resources and effectively improve the assembly efficiency.
1. Overview of virtual assembly technology
A new type of Virtual assembly environment system, which is consisted of three environment modules and 2 interface parts, is designed according to various categories of different aspects of virtual assembly technology. It can be divided into product design, process planning, and virtual prototype based on virtual assembly according to the virtual environment
According to the architecture, the overall process of virtual assembly is divided into modeling, planning, and field application teaching stages. In the modeling stage, the product model and real environment model are mainly transformed into a virtual scene model. In the planning stage, the product assembly sequence planning, assembly path planning, interactive assembly operation simulation, and evaluation. Finally, the product process catalog tree and related process documents are generated to train and teach the field assembly personnel.
1. CAD Modeling environment module. The parts and tooling tools are designed in the CAD system. By defining a series of coordination constraints, these parts are assembled to obtain the assembly model of the product. The assembly modeling process only considers the assembly position and constraints of the parts, and the process details such as the assembly sequence are not considered. It mainly includes product parts geometric module information, tooling, and tool geometry module information, and software system management data information.
2. Virtual assembly planning environment module. Establish a virtual assembly environment based on geometric constraints, in which users perform interactive assembly and disassembly based on experience and knowledge, recording information about assembly direction, assembly tools, and priority constraints. Considering the collision interference and the tool operation space limitation, the assembly order and path are planned, evaluated, and optimized to generate economical, reasonable, and practical assembly schemes.
3. Field application and demonstration and teaching environment module. The virtual reality simulation-based assembly process provides an excellent training tool for engineers. It takes a long-term process for assembly personnel to master the operation skills and experience required for complex product assembly. Assembly personnel conduct assembly task training in the virtual environment, are fully familiar with the assembly process, and then carry out the actual assembly of the product. At the same time, according to the optimized assembly scheme obtained from the virtual assembly planning, the field guidance process documents are generated, and the Web-based teaching software is developed to simulate the dynamic assembly process of the products and guide the workers in the actual assembly.
4. CAD interface. After the design model of the CAD system is loaded into the virtual environment, the useful information about the part geometry information, topology information, and assembly constraint information must be extracted.
5. Virtual Assembly, (VA) interface. In the virtual environment, interactive planning obtains the optimized assembly scheme of the product. The relevant process information such as assembly sequence, assembly path, process route, and other process information should be exported from the virtual environment, and the training and teaching modules are input to generate assembly animation documents to guide the field assembly and generate assembly process documents.
2. The characteristics and advantages of virtual assembly technology
1. Main characteristics
Assembly mode of human-computer interaction. With the help of VR main equipment, such as data clothing, data helmet, gloves, 3 d operation mouse, etc., make the process personnel in a similar virtual working environment of the parts moving, rotation, grab, installation, disassembly, let the operator real intervention in the assembly process, reflect the subjective intention and thought, realize the human-centered process design.
Virtualization of the assembly process mode. Including digital model 3 D virtualization, visual and operating environment virtualization, and human-computer interaction operation process virtualization. In the virtual three-dimensional environment, through the CAD resources, the same virtualization operation as the actual assembly process, virtual assembly process design implementation object, operation process, and assembly resources used are highly consistent with the actual production, can vividly reflect the real process of product assembly, make the simulation results have high credibility.
Bridge link between design and manufacturing. Virtual assembly is the transition stage of upstream and downstream product design and manufacturing and is an important link in the product life cycle, which ensures the information integration of products in design and manufacturing, quality inspection, operation and management, and other aspects. In the design process, the three-dimensional number modules, the tooling number modules required by the manufacturing process, the number modules of automatic equipment used, and the process model obtained through process division and simulation form a unified whole in the whole process.
2. Main advantages
3 D interaction in a virtual immersive environment. Through the comprehensive support of an immersive display system and spatial interaction equipment, realize the accompanying observation and operation from the first perspective, simulate the real working process, move, rotate, and accurately in 3 D space, and can get real feedback. It can not only enhance the interactive experience and quickly find the assembly problems exposed under different perspectives, but also make up for the shortcomings of the traditional assembly simulation and disassembly ideas. Most assembly simulation ideas are the inverse process of disassembly and assembly, and the product assembly order is quickly obtained by planning the assembly order of the assembly model. But the assembly order and disassembly order are not completely reversible processes, so the resulting assembly order can only be used as a reference. In the virtual reality environment, the installation operation and positioning of products have their advantages, and the installation process can be simulated and verified and the path recorded in this order.
3. The application of virtual assembly technology in aircraft assembly
Aircraft assembly is an important link to aircraft manufacturing. It is an important feature of aircraft manufacturing to ensure the parts and parts, the coordination between parts and tooling, tooling and assembly, and then ensure the assembly accuracy of aircraft manufacturing. Through a series of special process equipment, the shapes and sizes with coordination requirements are transferred according to the simulation amount and gradually transferred to the parts and components. There are a certain number of public links in the process of transmission. The more public links, the fewer non-public links, and the higher the coordination accuracy is. This coordination method can ensure a high coordination accuracy with a low manufacturing accuracy.
Aircraft digital assembly technology emerged in the late 1980s and has developed rapidly in some developed countries. Digital assembly technology integrates the most advanced scientific and technological achievements in various fields of the industry, such as digital technology, virtual reality technology, laser tracking, and positioning technology, automatic control technology, etc. It has been completely different from the traditional aircraft assembly technology. Modern aircraft digital assembly technology is characterized by automation, digitalization, flexibility, and information technology, which significantly improves the quality and efficiency of aircraft assembly, and also improves the fatigue life of aircraft. In fact aircraft parts assembly in the whole aircraft manufacturing process, is a combination of multiple disciplines, is closely related to product quality, production cycle, and manufacturing cost, based on virtual reality process assembly technology makes the aircraft in the early stage of manufacturing design and process problems, solve problems as soon as possible, shorten the product development cycle, to reduce the product manufacturing cost.
Some companies have developed the world’s first mixed reality training platform for aircraft assembly and manufacturing simulation assessment and verification, using interaction and real-time actuality to avoid the risk of practical verification and reduce the cost of the training simulation. Nowadays, the MOON method selects the augmented reality information interaction mode, using the webcam to capture the image of the assembly working area in real-time, and then extracts the corresponding virtual information from the IDMU to stack on the real-time image. In aircraft assembly work, the MOON project can unify WI document information management, and through AR information interaction technology to iDMU in the form of 3D vision to the staff, augmented reality technology provides comprehensive and centralized interactive visual information that can more directly and effectively guide the assembly work, reduce assembly errors, improve assembly efficiency and quality. In short, virtual assembly technology and its application in aircraft assembly are still very important.
Founded in August 2020, WIMI Hologram Academy is dedicated to holographic AI vision exploration, and conducts research on basic science and innovative technologies, driven by human vision. The Holographic Science Innovation Center, in partnership with WIMI Hologram Academy, is committed to exploring the unknown technology of holographic AI vision, attracting, gathering and integrating relevant global resources and superior forces, promoting comprehensive innovation with scientific and technological innovation as the core, and carrying out basic science and innovative technology research.
Contacts
Holographic Science Innovation Center
Email: pr@holo-science. com